wuhoo, no more errors! however, there appears to be no difference between the two link types. for example, these two URLs produce identical pages:
http://www.robkamphausen.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=news&forums=3,9&view=html
http://www.robkamphausen.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=news&forums=3,9
is there specific formatting of an include script (or something?) to get the results to appear like the portal page's center news?